Lubricant container for grease guns



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S. K. WELLMAN ET M.

LUBRICANT'CONTAINER FOR GREASE GUNS 'Filed DBG. 18. 1925 LII/l lNvNToRSraeaaa aeg. 'a taaie.

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VSAMUEL K. WELIJMAN, F CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, AND ALLEN A. GIOlULlD, 01E?@LEW- LAND, GEIQ.

LUBBICANT CONTAINER FOR. GREASE GUN@ Application mea December 1a, 1925.serial no. raise.

rlhe invention relates to an improved form of lubricant containerpreferably adapted to be inserted like a cartridge in a grease gun edfor use in connection and has to doA particularly with the type oflubricant container or cartridge disclosed in some of its aspects isapplicable to containers other than those of the cartridge type.

rIhe chief objects of our invention are cornprehended in the provisionof a cartridge like container of the character referred to which isadapted to serve satisfactorily as a container in which the grease canbe packed and marketed, which readily can be inserted in a suitablegrease gun of the character disclosed in our pending application abovereferred to, which is adapted to cooperate effectively with the nozzlemechanism of such gun to discharge the grease therefrom, and whichlinally, is susceptible of being manuactured at very low cost.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a tubularlubricant container havingl an improved piston-like end Wall structureadapted to move Within the tubular side wall of the container underatmospheric pressure as the grease is drawn from the container.

Other objects incidental or ancillary to the foregoing will appear fromthe following description in which we set :forth in connection with theaccompanying drawing the preferred forms or embodiments of ourinvention.

lin the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a sidev elevation of a cartridgeconstituting one embodiment of our invention, some of 'the cartridgebeing broken away to show parts of the structure in longitudinalsection.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal axial section through a cartridge presenting amodiiied forni of end wall or piston.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show in axial section, four other forms of pistonconstruction, the

piston in each instance being adapted for use in cartridges such asshown in Figs. 1 and 2 in lieu of the pistons thereof.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a grease gun with thecartridge shown in Fig. 1 operatively mountedtherein.

A grease gun of the general type with which our improved containers aredesigned to be used will first be brieiy described in order that thecharacteristic features of the container may be clearly understood. 1designates the chambered body or barrel of the grease gun. 'llhe body isordinarily tapered at 1a toward its discharge end and is iitted with anozzle or head 2.' rlhe nozzle 2 is fitted with a pump mechanism adaptedto suck lubricant from the chambered body 4 of the gun and-force it fromthe end of the. nozzle in a well-known manner. lin so far as the presentinvention is concerned Ithis pump mechanism may be of any suitableconstruction. 'lhe specific form .of pump mechanism shown 1s that of acommercially known grease gun and it will sul-lice to point out that itcomprises a plunger 3 having a passage therethrough controlled by aspring pressed ball valve 4. 5 is a spring pressed check valve whichcontrols the passage through a fixed abutment plate 6. A coil spring 7is interposed between the abutment plate 6 and the plunger 3. |The outerend of the nozzle 2 is designed toengage a fitting of the bearing to belubricated, such as shown in a. This fitting a is Jformed withdiametrically opposite lugs or pins a', a', andthe nozzle 2 is formedwith op osite spiral slots 2*, 21 to engage the pins a ln the use of thegun the nozzle 2 is engaged with the fitting a with the pins a in theslots 2a. rlhen the gun is twisted about its longitudinal axis and thiscauses the end of the fitting a to press the plunger 3 toward the checkvalve 5 thus forcing lubricant past the ball valve i into the nozzle ofthe gun. @n reversing the twisting movement of the gun, the spring?returns the plunger 3 to its normal position thereby exerting a suctionon the lubricant tending to draw it from the body of the gun ast thecheck valve 5. rl`he outer open end o the gun barrel is normally closedby a cap 8 which is detachably secured to the barrel of the gun bybayonet lemploying our improved grease cartridges we do away entirelywith thefollower engaging the inner walls of the barrel of the greasegun, and'instead of introducing the lubricant into direct engagementwith the body of the grease gun we introduce the lubricant-filledcartridge bodily into the barrel of the grease gun.

` Our improved cartridge, in the form illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a'tubular side wall 10, said wall preferably consisting of an inner tube10a and a somewhat shorter outerl tube 10b. The inner or discharge endof the container .is formed by a cap or closure l1 which fits theprojecting end of the v inner tube lO'as shown. The cap 11 is preferablysecured to the side wall by a pa er seal (not shown) over itsjoint withthe side wall, lwhich seal can readily be broken or cut to permitremoval of the cap before the cartridge is inserted .in the gun. The cap11 thus constitutes an end wall for the cartridge which readily can beopened .to permit vdischargeof the lubricant. The cartridge is providedlat vits other end with an end-wall 12y which serves also as a piston orfollower adapted to slide within the tubular ffeide wall ofthecartridge. The piston 12 comprises a transverse wall member 12a whichformed at its periphery with an out- V. wardly turned flexible flange12b adapted to closely litfand conform to the inner sidewall of thecartridge. Vithin the flange ofthe member 12a and rigidly securedthereto is a tubular --member 12c which projects outwardly from themember 12a and has at its outer end an outwardly turned' flange 12d tolightly, slidably engage the inner wall of the cartridge. The flange 12dbeing substantially spa/ced longitudinally of the cartridge from theflange 12", there is provided for the piston-like end wall a relativelywide engagement with thel side wall of the cartridge so that the pistonis maintained in suitable axial allgnment with said side wall andcramping or binding of the piston and admlsslon of air past it isprevented. In addition to the piston or follower 12,.,the cartridge hasat its outer' end a closure or cap 13 which fits the projecting end ofthe side wall tube 10a. This cap serves chiefly as a means forlpreventing accidental displacement or escape of the piston 12 from thejacent tapering wall 1i cartridge. The cap 13 has a central aper- I turelathrough which ones nger-or any suitable tool can be inserted whendesired to press the piston toward the discharge end' of the cartridge,and also through which the atmosphere can reach the follower 12, bothfunctions being hereinafter described.

While our invention, in certain of its aS- pects at least, is notlimited to the use of any particular material for the walls of the car-vVcartridge can 4be formed of sheet metal of suitable thickness but, asabove indicated, lower cost is obtained by the yuse of the suitablytreated ibrous material. The tubular side walls of such fibrous materialare readily formed in the well-known manner as are also the caps orclosures 11 and 13. The piston similarly is readily produced. That 1s tosay the member 12a is readily formed by pressing a suitable disc ofpaper or fibrous material in suitable dies and the member 12 is formedfrom a section of paper tube or the like by simply pressing one endoutward in suitable dies to form its flanges 12d. The member 12 is thenreadily secured to the member 12 as by` means of the silicate of sod-aor the like which is employed to oil proof the parts. d

container suchashas been described is readily charged with lubricantatthe factory. It is then closed by applying and sealing the cap 11. Thecartridge or package thus formed is readily and conveniently handled asan articleof commerce and when fthe lubricant is to be used it isonlynecessary for the user to remove the cap 11 and such in relation to thebarrel of the gun that when the cartridge is .inserted in the gun andthe cap 8 is-applied Isaid cap forces the container inward andetlects asubstantially air tight annular seal between the inner end of the sidewall of thecartridge and the adof the body/of the gun. In fact it ispreferable to make the dimensions of the cartridge such that when thecap 8 is secured by means of its bayonet connection the inner end 0f thecartridge has its edge forced slightly inward by the pressure asindicated in Fig. 7. This has vor follower 12 of t insure the removal ofthe follower with the 1,eso,aee

the advantage of insuring a tight seal and in addition the inturned edgeof the cartridge side wall serves to engage the piston the emptiedcartridge and side wall as the emptied cartridge is withdrawn from thegun.

With the grease gun tion of a cartridge in the manner described it isonly necessary for the-operator to apply it to a bearing {ittlng such asthat indicated at a' in Fig. 7 and actuate the ypump mechanism by a backand lforth twist-ing movement, in order VV'to create a suction which, byreason of the atmospheric pressure back of the piston or follower 12,results in the latter moving forward in the cartridge so that thelubricant is advanced to the pum mechanism.A As use of the gun iscontinued the piston or follower 12 continues to4 advance toward thedischarge end of the gun and finally completely empties the cartridge,thc piston having a substantially fiat front face to insure suchcomplet-e emptying.

In the operation of the gun-as described, the flange 12b of the pistonor follower, by

loaded by the inserreason of its flexible nature, conforms closely tothe inner wall of the cartridge and with the atmospheric pressure backof it effects a substantially air-tight 4fit .with the said side wall,the lubricant assisting to effect the seal.` While the piston flange 12bhas the necessary flexibility as above described,

' tionary it serves in conjunction with the guide flange 12d to maintainhe; piston in proper axial alignment as above described so that itcannot be turned in the barrel ofthe cartridge by the atmosphericpressure as suction is created on' the front side of the piston.

Whena cartridge has been em tied of lubricant by use of thegun as a ovedescr1bed,the gun s very easily re-loaded by simply detaching the capv8, removing the empty cartridge and inserting a full one in the mannerApreviously described, this'operation being effected without thenecessity of directlyA handling or touching the grease so thatanoperation which is ordinarily a very mussy one is made very simple andcleanly. After the gun has been placed in use the forward neck portionof the gun between the discharge end of lthe cartridge and the'stabecomes filled with lubricant so that when al full cartridge oflubricant is inserted inthe gun the latter is in condition to at oncedischarge lubricant from theY nozzle' without any preliminary actuationof thev pump mechanism to effect priming. However, in putting the greasegun to use in the first instance it is desirable to lill the saidforward neck portion ofthe gun with lubricant without relying upon thepump mechanism to effect the priming. This the user can readily do whenthe initial cartridge is in- .che'ck valve of the pump mechanism l tofill the said neck portion of the gun.

The modified form of cartridge illustrated in Fig. 2 differs from that'shownin Figs. 1 and 7 only in the construction of the piston end wallor follower. lt will be suflicient therefore to describepthis latterpart only of the constructio The piston or follower in this instancecomprises a forward transverse wall member 14 formed with a iexiblerearwardly turned flange 14a whichv closely engages and conforms to theinner wall of the cartridge so as to form a substantially air-tightsliding seal therewith,v said memberA thus being substantially the sameas the member 12u of the piston illustrated inFigs. 1 and 7. Secured tothe member 12 is a cupped member 15 which has its transverse wall 15asecured to the transverse wall of the member 14 while its rear oroutward edge lightly engages the inner wall of the cartridge and servesto hold the pistonin axial alignment.

The piston illustrated in Fig. 2`is preferably made of suitably fibrousmaterial. As in the case of the piston of the first described cartridgethe guide member 15 should be made heavy enough to properly perform itsfunction of guiding.

In Fig. 3 of the drawing is illustrated still another form of the pistonor follower embodying our ideas. In this construction the pistoncomprises a plain front disc member -16, the outer edges of which areadapted to still another form of treated paper or other piston vwhichcomprises a plain front disc 18 preferably of metal'and a cuppedi member19 preferably of paper, fiber or the like, the member 19 being securedto the member 18 by disc 20 and rivet 21. In this construction the outeredge ofthe disc 18 lightly engages the inner wall of the cartridge inwhich itis used while the rear flexible edge of the member 19 closelyengages and conforms to the inner wall of said cartridge to effect asubstantially air-tight seal.

In Fig. 5 we show a piston or follower which consists of a metalliccupped member 22 the side wall. of which is formed near its front sidewith a channel to receive a flexible packing lring 23 of felt, leatheror the like.I This flexible packing ring 23' closely engages andconforms to the inner wall of the cartridge in which the follower formsa substantially air-tight seal there-Ii` vyvith. At the same time `therear edge 22a of the fianged member 22 is adapted to lightly engage theinner wall of the cartridge.

Finally, in Fig. 6 is shown a follower which consists simply of a deeplycupped member 24 the side or flange wall 24a of which flares slightlytoward the outer right) side of the follower so that the free exibleedge of said side wall is adapted to closely engage and conform to thesurrounding side wall of the container while the transverse wall of thefollower, at its periphery where it joins the side wall, lightly engagesthe side wall of the container. Thus the free edge of the follower formsa substantially air-tight sliding seal with the side wall of thecontainer while the contact of l the front or inner edge of thefollower' at the cartridge. While in points widely separated from therear, seal edge, affords an adequate guiding action for the follower.This form of follower can be made either of oil-proofcd fibrous materialor of metal of suitable character.

It will be understood that the pistons or followers illustrated in Figs.3, 4, 5 and 6, as well as that illustrated in Fig. 2, are designed toperform the same function as the follower 12 of Fig. 1 and areinterchangeable therewith. Also, it will be noted that in each form ofpiston or follower disclosed there is a flexible peripheral part whichclosely engages and conforms to the inner wall of the cartridge toeffect a substantially air-tight seal, and a circumferentially eX-tending guide portion which isadapted to lightly engage the side wall ofthe cartridge at Ya number of points distributed around thecircumference thereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of thecartridge from the annular seal portion, so that in each form of pistonconstruction the piston is effectively eld in axial alignment in theside wall of each form of oonstruction illustrated the guide member ofthe piston forms a substantially continuous circumferential engagementwith the s'ide wall of the cartridge, it is obvious that such engagementneed not be continuous provided t 1ere are points of engagement suitablydistributed around the circumference of the piston.

From they foregoing our improved cartridge not only constitutes asatisfactory container for the marketing of grease but is capable ofhighly convenient use fand effective functioning in grease guns of thecharacter described and at the same.

it will be seen that vtime is adapted to be produced at a very low cost.l f

While we have illustrated several preferred 4or suitable forms ofconstruction to embody our improvements it will be understood that therecan be still other variations without departing from the'invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A container for lubricant adapted. to cooperate with a dischargenozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from thecontainer and force it out of the nozzle, said container'comprising incombination a tubular side wall; a substantially fiat end wall adaptedto be opened to permit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wallfitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like apiston by air pressure to discharge lubricant from the container, saidpiston-like end wall having a substantially fiat front face, `a flexiblerearwardly turned annular seal portion to engage the side wall and forma substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portiontoengage the side wall at oints distributed around the circumference tereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the -container from theannular seal portion.

2. A cartridge-like container for lubricant 4adapted to be inserted intothe chambered body of a lubricant gun having a discharge nozzle withpump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from the chamber of the gun andforce it out of the nozzle, said container comprising in combination atubular side wall; a substantially `flat end wall adapted to be openedto permit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall fitting withinthe side wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like a piston by airpressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like endwall having a substantially fiat front lface, a flexible rearwardlyturned annular seal portion to engage the side wall and form asubstantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion toengage the side wall at points distributed around the .circumferencethereof land substantially spaced lengthwisev of the container from theannular seal portion.

3. A container for lubricant adapted to cooperate with a dischargenozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from thecontainer and force it out ofthe nozzle, said containercomprising incombination a tubular side wall; an endJ wall adapted to be opened topermit discharge of lubricant; and a second end wall fitting within theside wall and adapted to be moved therethrough like a piston by airpressure to discharge lubricant from the container, said piston-like endwall having a transverse portion formed with a fiexible rearwardlyturned annular fiange to engage the side wall and form a substantiallyair-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion to engage the sidewall at points distributed around the circumference thereof andsubmenace for lubricant piston by air pressure todischarge lubricantfrom the container, said piston-like end wall having a transverseportion formed with a flexible rearwardly turned annular flange toengage; the side wall and-form a substantially air-tight'sliding sealtherewith and' av guide portion to engage the side wall at Apointsdistributed around the circumference thereof and substantially spacedlengthwise of the container from the an'iilar seal portion.

5. A container-for lubricantadapted to cooperate with a discharge nozzlehaving suck lubricant 'om the chamber of the l pump mechanism adapted tosuck lubricant from the container and force it out of the nozzle, saidcontainer comprising 1n combination a tubular side wall; an end walladapted to be, opened to permit' discharge of lubricant; and a secondend wall hitting within the side wall and adapted to be moved therethrouh like a iston by air pressureto discharge ubricant rom .the container,said piston-like end wall having a transverse portion `formed with aexible rearwardly turned annular tiange to engage the side wall and forma substantially air-tight sliding seal therewith and an annularcircumferentially continuous guide ortion to engage the side wall. atpoints su stantially spaced lengthwise of the container from. theannular seal portion.

6. A. cartridge-like container for lubricant adapted to be inserted intothe chambered y of a lubricant gun having. a discharge nozzle withpump-mechanism adapted to and torce it out of the nozzle,sai'd'container comprising wall; anen'dwall adapted to loe-opened topermit 'discharge ond end walluitting within the side wall andada-pted'to be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressure todischarge lubricant from the container, said piston-like end wall havinga transverse portion formed with a flexible rearwardly turned annularflange to engage the side wall and form a substantially alr-tightsliding seal therewith and an annular circumferentiall continuous guidepoints substantially spaced lengthwise of the container from the annularseal portion.

7. A container for lubricant adapted to cooperate with a dischargenozzle having pump mechanism adapted to suck lubricant from thecontainer and force it out of the nozzle, said container comprising invcombination a tubular side wall; an end wall adapted to be opened topermit discharge of lubricant; a second end wall fitting within the sidewall and adaptedto be moved therethrough like a piston by air pressureto discharge lubricant from thecontainer, said piston-like end wallhaving a transverse portion formed with aiexible rearwardly turnedannular flange to engage the side wall and form a substantiallyair-tight sliding seal therewith and a guide portion to 'engage the sidewall at points distributed in combination a tubular side of lubricant;and a secportion to engage the side wall at i around the circumferencethereof and substantially spaced lengthwise of the container from theannular seal portion; and a cap on the end of the container adjacent theiston-like end wall, said cap being adapte to prevent rearward movementof the pistonlike end wall from the bore of the side wall and having anaperture through which the said piston-like end wall can be engaged toforce it toward the opposite end of the conI tainer.

lin testimony whereof, we hereunto an our signatures. V Y

w LKWE antan .neounn

